(Intelligent within and Beautiful without)

First of all, I would like to explain why I choose such a title. It is not used to describe any character in the book. In fact most of the main characters are superficial, vanity and tyranny. The title is used to describe the book itself. In my opinion, The book not only uses many kinds of rhetorical devices to strengthen the artistic quality, but also has profound meaning and is of such great significance.

The first I want to mention is a paragraph which impressed me the most. "This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. Occasionally a line of grey cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-grey men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud which screens their obscure operations from your sight." This is the beginning of Chapter II. (I seldom read European or American novels in order to avoid the blunt translation. I always feel that I can't understand the author fully. But fortunately, I found this original edition, and it certainly had me riveted. So I finished the whole story and maybe this is fate to meet the book.) By the way, under such a wonderful description, the book world seems to be about to form and the characters also appear. But as stated above, everything is formed by the ashes, thus shaping a hazy and dim environment. In the words of the author, the upper class seems to be the same. Life is just like a bubble. Readers always have the deep felling of unreality while reading. The rich are cold, hypocritical and cruel. Those human weaknesses are completely shown in the book. So polite society is probably another world made of ashes.

After reading this book, probably the most people will think about why Gatsby is great. The book mentions that Gatsby has written down the regular routine and an ethically sound code of conduct on his previous book, from which we can see that Gatsby makes good use of time and has strong restraint. He was originally a poor child but finally came to the fore. Although the book implicitly mentions that he gained success through the backdoor deals. But I don't think only reaching eminence is enough to show that one is great. The real reason, maybe, is Gatsby's obsession with Daisy. After he has possessed wealth, despite of the fact that his former lover had been married to another man, he bought the villa opposite her home. In order to attract her attention and relive the moments with her at some point, he indulged in feasting extravaganza. But in fact, we know that Daisy is just the incarnation of Gatsby's dream. As a rich lady, she symbolizes the luxury and glory of the upper class. She is the "green light" in Gatsby's mind. This is also described in the book. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther...And one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." But in fact, she's just selfish and shallow vulgarian shaped with a beautiful body. Also, Gatsby is in an era of a voluptuous and carefree life, but all the time he remembered the short-term love he had experienced in his young adulthood. He even sublimates it into his own belief and idealize it with his own fantasy. In fact Daisy's charm and all her halos are non-existent. It's just within his imagination. He preferred to deceive himself rather than see his beautiful dream turn into ugly reality, which led to the tragedy of his life. Well, I think we'd better not judge him arbitrarily. because the words in the beginning in this book tell us. "‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had. ’"